The BBC ran an episode of its documentary series Panorama on April 15, 2012, that focused on Glencore’s role in child labor at Tilwezembe.5 Both Glencore and the Congolese government dismissed the story as an exaggeration. The truth, however, is that the system of artisanal mining at the site has evolved into a sophisticated economy that appears to include two of the largest artisanal mining cooperatives in Lualaba Province, as well as officials working for SAEMAPE.
